The white stuff

I am not sure why I love snow so much. Maybe it's because, growing up in Tasmania, we had to drive up a mountain to actually see some. Apart from the day it actually snowed in Hobart on my best friends 16th birthday. That day seemed so special. Not only did we not have to go to school, but very few people went to work. The whole city stopped over a few centermetres of snow.Today the kids were supposed to be back at school after a week off, but it started snowing last night and today there was enough to call off school. It's not actually that much snow. When we lived in Queens, NY a few years ago we had one year with a lot of snow. I remember having to put the 2 babies on a sled and drag them to school to pick up the other 2 in near blizzzard conditions. More than once. It seemed it only snowed after the kids had left for school. For the 3 years they were at school there they didn't once have a real snow day (there were days when it was all too much for me and I gave them the day off).
But snow days are a wonderful thing. I barely slept last night, kept having weird dreams about snow and waiting for the alarm to go off. When I got up to go to the loo at midnight, I looked out the bathroom window and it was as bright as day. Everything was covered in white and glowing.
When Matt got up at 6 this morning I raced to the computer to check the schools website and see those lovely words "all schools closed". Then I was able to go back to bed a sleep soundly...at least until the kids woke up.
And then I had to get dressed and go out in the snow. I love the feel of snow. I love how it blankets the air so that everything sounds so quiet and hushed. Almost reverent. I love the way it forms a mantel over everything making it look clean and changing its shape.
It changes how we view our world. Tree branches become magical, stone bbqs look elegant.
That is, until you start to shovel. I really don't mind shovelling snow. I like to be out in the snow and doing a bit of hard work. But I don't like how the shovel (or the snow ploughs) uncover all the dirt hidden underneath the whiteness.
Above is a side view of the snow we've had overnight. Below is it measured in cm (the ruler's message is rather ironic, and not intentional)...so roughly 10 cm because there is always that extra almost 1 cm at the beginning of the ruler.
And a photo of the house for Simmy who requested more. And of my morning's work of shovelling. Not bad for someone who is still sick. Of course the snowplough people just came and stole all my glory...I knew that would happen. Last time they left it too long and it was so icy the plough didn't work properly, so I thought I'd just get stuck in and do it this morning, and now they've come.

The temperature has just gone up to 0 deg C and even though it is still "snowing" I'm sure it will all turn to slush soon enough. So I've sent the kids out in it. To make the most of it while they can.